Guys:

For all the disharmony we've had vis-a-vis that little contest, it's nice to see the
regulars or 'road dogs' weigh back in. You guys are my heroes. Anybody who takes
time out of a busy existence, to listen to some bullshit I'm spouting, should be
commended..or condemned. I'm not sure. At any rate, I thank all of you guys and I
hope they keep letting me do this till the wheels fall off.

White Jazz news: CASTING has begun kids. There's a couple of early favorites and
I'm sure you Ellroy fans have your lists. I would love to tell you who I'm considering
for each role but I appreciate good suspense, so I'll string you along as much as I can.

Prequel news: Script came in fabulous but a bit too brutal so I've asked the lads to
tone is back, ever so slightly. Imagine that, coming from me: 'Pot, I'm Kettle. You're black.'
Maybe I'm just getting older and softer...but let's hope not.

JC

The Nigerians handed me the first draft of the 'Smokin' prequel
yesterday. I will read it today and try to annoint this f*cker so we
can get it up and running pronto. These guys worked FAST. Since
we broke story while Universal's biz dept. was still fretting deals
and contractual nonsense, we're now way out in front of this thing.

Updates to follow...

JC

So former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales becomes the latest
Bush administration lackey to get blown out of the airlock. Heartbreaking.
This guy may be the new standard bearer in sycophantic fanaticism and
I'm reasonably sure, he would be able to describe, in minute, sketch artist-like
detail, the inner workings of the president's (Jesus, is that getting harder to type)
digestive tract and lower intensine...THAT'S how far he was up Dubya's ass

This guy actually had Republican and Democrats alike, pining for a return to the
salad days of John Ashcroft...a man who at least he wore his outre, overloaded
lunacy in public. At least you could fire the accusatory finger at him and say,
beyond all shades of doubt: 'That motherf*cker is f*cking crazy.'

And there's comfort in that. Ashcroft didn't have any hidden agenda beyond a slavish devotion
to the bald eagle, the good book, and the wholly self-serving political agenda of the bible-
beating Christian right. That's it. That's the triptych that made up Ashcroft's wheelhouse.

Gonzo on the other hand, comes off as this spontaneously combusting phony. This
slick, pandering, operator: Part pimp, part putz. The gladhanding shill who goes in and
greases all the girls to make sure that the famous folks he works for have a good time.

That kind of guy is good to have in Vegas...bad to have in office.

Gonzo, a word of advice as you wind your way back toward that Texas sunset. When you suborn
your own moral and ethical code. When you become an instrument of intolerance and wrong-
headed hypocrisy. When you help wage the wars of men more powerful than yourself...then you
risk losing it all. Which you've done...

But there will always be a tomorrow for the willing of heart...

...so reach down, relocate your nuts and prove that your Harvard law degree and life to date, can
yield something other than bootlicking and brown-nosing in the future.

JC